When I was offered a place at the British Council Programme 4102 in Southampton, England in the Spring of 1995, of course I accepted (sorry B & A, tak boleh ikut! Official, ma!). What was the programme all about? Entitled 'Libraries in the Development of Higher Education', it was to equip participants with the skills required to prepare library development projects which take account of the requirements of international funding agencies and of the needs of their own particular settings. Participants were mainly librarians from East Europe, Africa, and Asia.
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| Participants and facilitators of the BC Programme 4102 |
To make the most of the long trip, I made arrangements to officially visit the British Library & British Museum, and also the De Montford University in Milton Keynes. All to check out the update of their online systems. Good excuse, ha?
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| The Farsian children (CNB 1995) |
In London I stayed with some Persian friends, the Farsians who live in Highgate. It was great because I got to celebrate Nowruz with them and their very posh (quite snooty) relatives. We also had dinner at a Turkish Restaurant where I was introduced to belly dancing on the tables. Its a wonder the tables can stand the weight of the rather heavy gyrating dancer!
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| The British Museum (CNB 1995) |
In Southampton, we were accommodated at the rather old Polygon Hotel, which had wooden floorboards that creaked when you walked around. With some fellow participants, we did a walking tour of the city. Although it was Spring time, it was still rather chilly but there was beautiful sunshine everywhere. I could not resist buying some
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| On our walking tour of Southampton (1995) |
The Polygon Hotel was interesting in that everything about it was very old and very English. The meeting rooms were just adequate for round table discussions and use of basic presentation tools. But the dining experience was hilarious. We had very, very old English ladies with trembling hands serving us . It was just a matter of time before one of them dropped a whole stack of plates with a huge crash! I felt for the ladies but I guess the hotel management was having problems with recruitment of staff and got their own mothers to help out. Just guessing... Anyway their dessert cart was just fabulous!
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| Lounging & Dining at the Polygon (1995) |
We were taken to visit the Centre for International Development at Oxford University, and also given a guided walking tour of the University town. For me it was a third time in Oxford, and yet it still fascinated me with all the beautiful old buildings around.
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| The Centre for International Development (1995) |
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| Our guided walking tour of Oxford (CNB 1995) |
When in the counties of Wiltshire & Hampshire, of course you also get to visit that English wonder of the world - Stonehenge, the prehistoric monument on the Salisbury Plain of Wiltshire (even though it was my third time, it was still awesome to look at). Then there is Beaulieu (where the Castle and National Motor Museum are) and Bucklars Hard (a pretty 18th century village/hamlet with Georgian cottages and a shipbuilding past, on the banks of the Beaulieu River in the New Forest, Hampshire).
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| Aah.. the daffodils at Beaulieu (1995) |
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| Aah... the Stones, the prehistoric Stones (1995) |
Back in the meeting rooms at Southampton, we continued our presentations and discussions. The BC Seminar facilitators acknowledged Malaysia as a 'developed' country already, 25 years ahead of 2020. So we in fact should be funding and facilitating library development projects in the developing countries around us, especially in Southeast Asia. I was glad to report that we were already doing that.
In Southampton, our days were spent in the meeting rooms and also visiting the various Institutes and Libraries. In the evenings we had our welcome/farewell dinners and three nights out together; one at the Museum & Gallery, one at the Red Lion (typical old English Pub), and another at the Nuffield Theatre ("And a Nightingale Sang"). So, who said librarians do not have fun?
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| At the Southampton University Library |
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| At our closing/farewell dinner (1995) |
After the BC Seminar, I went back to London to stay with the Farsians. From there I made my visit to the Library of De Montfort University at Milton Keynes. I was interested in ELINOR - their electronic information online retrieval project which would be the impetus to their fully electronic library.
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| No caption needed except to say that the T had dropped off De Montfort! |
Before leaving for London, I met up with Stella Lowe (my ex-boss from Salford College of Technology). We had a great time catching up over tea (of course, when in England what else?) at a hotel coffee house nearby the Milton Keynes Railway Station. Then we said our farewells at the station and Stella went back to Salford, and I to London before flying home the very next day.
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| Tea with |
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| Milton Keynes Station platform (SL 1995) |
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| The train arrives at Victoria Station, London (CNB 1995) |
March-April 1995
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